"Kids will be kids." ... "Words will never hurt you."

But they might drive you to hurt yourself.

Last week, 10-year-old Ashlynn Conner couldn't take it anymore. After enduring what her mother calls years of bullying, the fifth-grader and honor student took her own life by hanging herself in her bedroom closet.

In the wake of the news, her mother Stacy Conner told a local TV station that Ashlynn had been teased for years both in her school and community of Ridge Farm, IL. Just two weeks before Ashlynn's suicide, Conner thought she'd given her sound advice, and hoped she had pointed her daughter in the right direction, she said.

"I thought my kids were strong," Conner said, as quoted in Huffington Post. "That my words to them for guidance and advice would have more weight than what these kids were saying. I was wrong."

Conner told reporters that Ashlynn's classmates bombarded her with jeers of "slut, fat and ugly."

Those words, flung at a 10-year-old girl.

I know, and you know—this is not the first instance of a child giving way to the emotional burden of bullying or harassment.

As reported by Sun-Times Media, a recent study by the American Association of University Women shows an increase in student harassment—and more specifically, harassment sexual in nature.

Taunts of "slut" certainly fit into the sexual category.

The ever-expanding world of social media offers additional outlets for bullying. Text messages also seem to be popular for threats and insults. And many instances of harassment or bullying go unreported, the study states.

At Hille Middle School, Principal Courtney Orzel said that's not the case. 

"Our students are very honest," Orzel told Patch over the summer. "They feel very confident and open to share their experiences. Any time we give students a voice into their experience, they embrace that."

READ: How Are Oak Forest Schools and School Districts Addressing Bullying?

Dan Goggings, Bremen High School District 228's assistant superintendent of personnel and student services, recently told Sun-Times Media that he believes harassment is becoming more prevalent and the district tries to hammer home respect for peers and the effects of bullying, whether in person, via telephone, or online.

At Forest Ridge School District 142, a group of concerned parents and administrators refuse to wait for kids to come around on their own, or outgrow bullying.

"It's making connections with kids, making it a point for them to see me not only as a principal, but talking to them about their interests outside of school," said Foster Principal Curt Beringer.

"I saw behaviors change. ... If that takes me five minutes of my day to do, then good grief, that's my job."

The district has designed a community action plan, with specific aspects of researching and combatting bullying assigned to specific administrators. Their efforts include educating students on a constantly evolving definition of bullying, including cyberbullying. The approach is adjusted and shifted into tiers, based on the extent of the bullying. Many of the goals for each step include statements such as, "Students have a voice in the community," and "Increased awareness, clear expectations and response, providing an increased feeling of safety and security within the school." Action plans are tailored specifically to the students involved in each bullying incident.

READ: Is Their Approach Working?

But, there's only so much that can be done within the walls of the schools. The AAUW survey of nearly 2,000 students in grades seven through 12 revealed 48 percent had experienced some form of sexual harassment by another student, either in person or by text or email, during the prior school year. Sexual harassment by text, e-mail, Facebook, or other electronic means affected
nearly one-third (30 percent) of students, according to the report.

Download the full report here, for free.

I attended Catholic grammar school and Catholic high school, and while I refuted Jenny McCarthy's claims of bullying at Mother McAuley, I have no qualms in saying bullying ran rampant in the halls of my grammar school. It happened  everywhere: on sports teams, in the lunchroom, on the playground, in the alleyway between the convent and the school.

There were many days I feigned illness to avoid school. (Don't worry, my Mom knows.)

I admit, I'm thin-skinned and what I recall as instances of bullying were probably minor to some—and tame by today's standards.

But as easily as I might say I overstated those moments of adolescent misery, my pain at the time was very real. It's difficult and horrifying for me to grasp the extent of Ashlynn's pain that pushed her over the edge. I put all my faith in my mother's advice on how to cope, and while at the time it never seemed to work and my world seemed to be crumbling under my feet, I know today everything she said was right.

And I'm proud to say I came out stronger on the other side of it all. I'd like to say that's the common result, but it seems that it's becoming more a rarity.

The lucky ones manage to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

The unlucky ones burn out far too soon.

How do you help your kids cope with bullying?

What are your tips to dealing with bullying in person, online, or via telephone?

Do you think schools are doing enough to combat bullying and harassment?